Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Pete … "On today’s (Thursday) blog the article on Cleaning reveals the Fontes de João Dinis. You said there is a well, are here two photos for you, 2nd well is working water coming out, The 1st again another well, but dry. I am not clear which one in the blog, so I thought I’d send you both photos".

Many thanks to Paul for this. It was covered yesterday, but with different articles I think :

4 marine protected areas on the extended continental shelves of the Azores as well as mainland Portugal. On the 24^th March the WWF in Funchal, Madeira “praised Portuguese authorities for announcing the establishment of four marine protected areas on the extended continental shelves of the Azores as well as mainland Portugal.” “The four sites – on the southern Mid Atlantic Ridge, Altair Seamount, Antialtair Seamount and Josephine Bank – together cover an area of 120,000 square km rich in vulnerable deepwater communities, including cold-water coral reefs, sponge fields, coral gardens, and deep sea bony fish, sharks and rays.”

OSPAR Convention. The announcement of marine protected area status was made at an international North Atlantic environmental commission (OSPAR Convention) meeting attended by UN fisheries and seabed agencies in Funchal, Madeira. It follows three of the four sites being declared being declared off limits because of the use of destructive bottom fishing gear just under a year ago.

Image : Map of the marine area and the 15 contracting parties of the OSPAR Commission for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.

Ground breaking progress on ocean governance. Stephan Lutter, International Marine Policy Officer with WWF Germany said it was ground breaking progress on ocean governance : “It comes at a time when the political and economic boundaries in our oceans are shifting. We would wish that all Coastal States who have submitted claims for an extended continental shelf beyond the limit of 200 nautical miles were taking their obligation to protect the marine wildlife out there as seriously as Portugal.” All four of the new marine protected areas will be unique in legal terms, with the coastal state in charge of protecting the natural resources of the seafloor, and international bodies to protect marine biological diversity in the corresponding High Seas waters.

“Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone”. This new legal arrangement opens up possibilities of improving protection to the first pilot marine protected area in international waters of the North Atlantic, the so-called “Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone” located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which was agreed by contracting parties to the OSPAR Convention on the in 2008.

Also from Paul :

No danger of Portugal being sucked into the same sort of debt whirlpool as Greece. "European Union president Herman Van Rompuy said on Friday (26^th March) there was no danger of Portugal being sucked into the same sort of debt whirlpool as Greece. "The problem is completely different for Portugal," Van Rompuy said when asked if he feared that Lisbon might be next to seek help dealing with a bulging annual deficit and national debt. "I really believe that the situations are not in the least comparable and that the markets realise that, and will realise that in the coming days," he added.

Photo : Herman Van Rompuy, ex-Belgian prime minister now EU President

"You can only compare what’s comparable," Van Rompuy added, also distinguishing between what had happened in Athens and fears over Spain’s high deficit.

Portugal’s decision to freeze public sector wages was "a step in the right direction”. European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet meanwhile said that Portugal’s decision to freeze public sector wages was "a step in the right direction." Link to full article

REMEMBERED TO PUT YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD ONE HOUR?

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 27/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Ancient bridges should stand.  Funchal Council want to keep the old pedestrian bridges wherever possible. Two that are repairable after storm damage are Cidrão (photo) and D. Manuel over the ribeira de Santa Luzia. Bridges that have to be demolished or partially rebuilt are: near the old headquarters of Nacional connecting rua do Tanoeiros and Rua da Alfândega; Til and Rua da Carne Azeda over the ribeiro do Livramento (behind the Jardim de Santa Luzia); over the ribeiras and ribeiros near the Mercado and Minas Gerais; in Laranjal (Estrada Comandante Camacho de Freitas), Fundoa, Quinta Falcão, Casabranca and the ponte do Livramento.

MADEIRA

Two thousand truckloads of inerts. Over two thousand lorry loads of aggregates have been dumped at a landfill at the mouth of the ribeira da Alforra in Câmara de Lobos. Thousands of cubic metres of material, mainly earth, have stained the sea front of this fishing town. This landfill is now closed. The mayor admits the brown stain in the sea has a bad visual impact but the urgency of the situation justifies using this option.

PSP accused of violence and torture. The family of a 46 year old man has made a complaint to the prosecutor against the Public Security Police for aggression and acts of torture committed by agents on that individual. According to the brother of the alleged victim, it started around 17.30 on Thursday when Rui Duarte Nunes, known as Dude, was approached by two police officers of the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) in the area of Quinta Deão. The officers took his brother to an area close to the parish council building and began an unprovoked attack. They punched and handcuffed him and reinforcements came, witnessed by family members who live nearby. Rui Nunes was taken to the Regional Command of the PSP and when released at 20.30, he could hardly walk. He was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was treated until 2 am. Wounds were on his face, back, abdomen, behind his ears, feet and pepper spray had been thrown in his eyes. Rui Nunes attended court where the judge ordered him to go to the Forensic Medicine department for photographs to be taken. The PSP argue that he had attempted to assault them. His brother said that Rui is a drug abuser but neither violent or a criminal.

ECONOMY

Traders received 136.7 million Euros of aid. A month after the catastrophic events on February 20th, 800 traders have received 136.7 million Euros in compensation. 45 applications of less than 75,000 Euros, totalling 2.3 million Euros have been approved and another 130 are being processed by the banks for a total of 8.3 million Euros. In the final stage are 15 applications totalling 3 million Euros that are for more than 75,000 Euros each. The total so far is 5.4 million Euros of funds set up by the Governments of the Republic and Madeira granted to 180 traders, averaging 30,000 Euros each. Funchal Council has secured 350,000 Euros for 150 traders or 2,500 Euros each. Insurance firms have paid 123 million Euros for 683 claims, an average of 180,000 Euros. Firms with 40/60 employees can ask Social Security to pay 70% of wages and contributions for three months. Among the companies that have received bank aid to secure jobs, 32 are micro-sized, 12 small-sized and one medium-sized firm. They received 2.3 million Euros or 51,000 Euros each. Support has been given to 10 firms in the tourism sector, 8 in the service sector, 3 in the transport sector and 2 construction firms. The most support has been to firms in Funchal and other areas are Santa Cruz, Câmara de Lobos, Machico and Ponta do Sol. 40 other companies have benefited from 1.5 million Euros from credit lines to help with cash flow problems.

ANAM current debt is reduced to 206 million Euros. ANAM manages Madeira Airport and the results in 2009 are an improvement since the previous year due to better management. The passenger numbers fell 4.3% despite a fall of 6.5% through European airports. The main shortfall was a 20% decrease in passengers from the United Kingdom, made up by Easyjet passengers from Lisbon. The net income for 2009 fell from minus 10.3 million Euros in 2008 to minus 7.2 million Euros. ANAM paid 60 million Euros to the banks to reduce the debt by 25% and interest rates were lower. This left a debt at the end of 2009 at 206 million Euros.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Socialist Party of Madeira already assures support for Passos Coelho – Guilherme Silva was the delegate of Rangel [loser in the PSD elections], but accepts the victory of the new leader, from whom he expects solidarity. The party activists of PSD-Madeira backed a loser, with 86% of the vote going to Paulo Rangel. Madeira was the only region of Portugal that gave Rangel a majority. Silva said "we always count on each other on the day following the result of an internal party election … it is a saying that the PSD always had". He highlighted the "significant victory" of Pedro Passos Coelho and added that he believes that this is a "strong leadership, capable and consistent to provide opposition to the Socialist Party and José Sócrates". Hmmm … normally that sort of statement would come from the party leader for Madeira, but perhaps Uncle Bertie was just too busy to face the press!

Pharmacies flee from supplying syringes – Complaints accuse drug addicts of ruining the environment. Chemists say that they were obliged to refuse the exchange of syringe ‘kits’ in their shops in order to restore a ‘good environment’. Thefts, threats, injuries, altercations, and a bad atmosphere are the reasons given from withdrawing from the syringe exchange programme, with some shops in downtown Funchal having left the scheme a year ago. "It was a service that we offered for the State and society, but today we can not afford to lose customers because things are not easy," says Ana Mafalda Rodrigues, technical director of the Portuguese Pharmacy, located on Rua João Tavira. The movement of drug addicts in the establishment troubled customers who felt intimidated with the way they spoke and asked for assistance, without regard to who was ahead in the queue, she explains, adding that for such a decision to be taken the occurrence of "some thefts" was also taken into account.

Today’s main news headline : 409 companies leave Business Centre – It is a sharp fall in just one year, but the exit from the International Business Centre of Madeira was already happening since 2001. In 9 years, 3021 companies abandoned Madeira.

Geraldine Chaplin come to the Festival of Cinema. I had no idea who she was, but a quick peek at the article says that she is an actress of great renown, but also the daughter of Charlie Chaplin. However, there is another famous guest who I am well aware of, as he features in my DVD collection … Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame. The festival runs from the 10th to the 17th April, in Funchal of course, in the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.

The main sport / football headline today : Benfica ‘tidies up’ Braga and the Premier League – The Benfica ‘nation’ can start to celebrate : yesterday, Luisão scored the victory goal before Braga and will have ‘swept away’ the issue of the title for this season. There are still six games left this season, and with a gap of 6 points between league leaders Benfica and second placed Braga, it’s a bit too early to be celebrating methinks, although I don’t have much doubt that the Diário’s assumption is correct. 6 weeks of noisy gloating Benfiquistas to put up with until the season end, and then even more after … I think I might go into a Spring hibernation. It’s been a long long time since Benfica have has a successful season, and I don’t actually begrudge them that, it’s just that obnoxious manager Jorge Jesus that I can’t stand. His behaviour cannot be described as anything other than legalised yobbery and he sets a disgraceful example to football supporters. No wonder hooligan problems are hitting the Portugal headlines with increasing regularity.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and other material.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom …

Many thanks to Becky for sending in this snippet and video :

"The Jersey Football Association Capita Centre of Excellence Year-9 age group is to play four matches in Madeira next month." HERE

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for these website links :

Links with Gibraltar – Madeira Disaster Collection.  HERE

Informative blog about Madeira Wine. HERE

Many thanks to Elaine [West] for this :

SPAD receives help from a German institution. Anima – Hilfe für Tiere (Help for Animals) has donated 10 large kennels for animals. The German institution for the protection of animals ‘Anima – Hilfe für Tiere’ ( ‘Help For Animals’) has given SPAD ten large kennels that will be placed in the Vasco Gil Kennel Site.

The request for help from SPAD came just days after the storm of 20 February, when some animals were brought to the institution because they had lost both owners and their home. At the time, SPAD asked all those wishing to contribute to the work of the association to help supply plastic cages (used or new) for animals to be properly collected. The appeal reached Germany and ‘Anima’ quickly dealt with the deployment of 10 large kennels. Next Thursday, March 25, from 14.30, the kennels will be handed over. On site, a group of five volunteers will be available to unpack and prepare them so they can be finally used by SPAD.

It should be recalled that several years ago ‘Anima’ collaborated with initiatives in Madeira. Recently the German institution has financed free sterilization campaigns in Porto Santo and a number of stray animals (dogs and cats) are sent to Germany each year to homes and families that ‘Anima’ has found for them. In 2008 ‘Anima’ received a total of 28 dogs which were then sterilized and delivered to new owners. Last year various animals from Madeira were received by the them, many of them Huskies. These dogs, although pedigree animals, do not adapt to Madeira’s climate and are often abandoned.

Many thanks to Paul for this :

‘Sisi’ Elisabeth, Empress of Austria & Queen of Hungary (1837-1898) & Madeira. In the 1860′s Elisabeth was considered the world’s most beautiful monarch. In the 1870′s she became the most famous, and probably also the world’s best, female equestrian but, in 1859 left her husband and small children to live in seclusion on Madeira, Corfu, and in Venice. “The Empress had exchanged a carefree country life with the strict etiquette of the Imperial Court and could hardly adapt to it. Francis Joseph loved his wife dearly, but he ruled over an empire of 50 million people and had little time to be with "Sisi" who felt lonely. "I wish he were no emperor", she confided her former governess.”

Sisi likened to Princess Diana. “Little wonder then that following her tragic death Princess Diana was often likened in obituaries to Sisi: Both were women of extraordinary beauty and represented their countries with dignity and elegance. Both succeeded in winning a special place in people’s hearts even amidst the ceremony and protocol of ancient dynasties. Both were dedicated to social causes. And both died tragically before their time.”

Photo : Memorial of Elisabeth (Österreich-Ungarn), also named Sisi, in Funchal, Madeira closed to the Casino. At this location a hotel was located, where Sisi was on holiday.

Sisi Film & Musical. “The romantic legend of how Sisi and Franz Joseph met has been immortalized in the wonderfully romantic and melodramatic Austrian "Sisi" Films starring Romy Schneider as young Sisi. The musical "Elisabeth", which has attracted tourists from all over the world to Vienna for more than five years, is much more realistic.”

In 1998 a hundred years after she died from wounds inflicted during an assassination attempt exhibitions throughout Austria commemorated her life. They documented the intriguing life story of a woman who was an "empress against her will", who was at once fairy-tale princess and liberated woman, a dieting fanatic and expert equestrian, a poet and inveterate traveller.

Photo : Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1864

Video compilation of the Austrian trilogy "SISSI-The Young Empress"

Sisi’s hold on the popular imagination remains undiminished. “Sisi was already a legend in her lifetime. And especially in Budapest (Hungary) many buildings or institutions are named after her, and Elisabeth is still the most often given girl name in Hungary. Even a century after her death, Sisi’s hold on the popular imagination remains undiminished. This can be seen in the popularity of Sisi films and the musical "Elisabeth", which has run for years in Vienna. The sites where the empress lived continue to draw tourists from the world over. Among these are her apartments in Schönbrunn Palace, the Hofburg, and the Hermes Villa in Vienna, her tomb in the imperial burial vault of the capital’s Capuchin Church, and the imperial villa in Bad Ischl, as well as many other places throughout Austria.” Link to full article

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 23/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

PEC threatens the solvency of public enterprises. Compliance with the rules contained in the Stability and Growth Pact (PEC), which the Regional Government had no objection to, may be disastrous for the Regional accounts as the State will limit borrowing for all public sector companies. The Government of the Republic, in addition to maintaining the rule of zero net debt to the entities of the Regional and Local Administrations, unless in response to emergencies, will also constrain new financial liabilities when public companies use community funding. Thus, public companies will have lower limits for liabilities as neither Governments can risk having to input capital into these companies. Also, the higher the corporate debt, the worse the country’s external debt. According to Diário, public enterprises have increased their bank liabilities seven fold in six years. Some of these debts are to suppliers and if they cannot resort to credit, the inability to invest and make payments will worsen. Madeira’s contribution to the Portuguese deficit is zero. In 2007, Madeira had not reached the borrowing limit that the EU imposed on the State in the PEC. In 2008, Madeira made a positive contribution to the implementation of the PEC as it still had a net lending capacity of one million Euros, helping to balance the public accounts. — An expert in financial affairs commented that the reason that the 4.1 million Euros subsidy to the Jornal da Madeira stays the same as last year, is probably because no bank will lend to the company. The case is to be heard in the EU Court and if they rule the subsidy is illegal and fine the company, who pays and what happens about any debts?

30,000 pensioners below the minimum wage. Most are women on survivor’s pension of 180 Euros per month. The minimum wage for 2010 is 475 Euros. A similar petition was sent last year, with half the present number of signatures, to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. This year, the petition will also be sent to the Assembly of the Republic as last year, the two government argued that it was each other’s responsibility.

Public Ministry accuses gang of using children in drug trafficking. A trial started yesterday in Funchal with 19 defendants, including two Italians. 16 attended the hearing, all from social housing estates in Câmara de Lobos, two will be tried in abstentia and one is on the Continent. Six defendants are in prison custody, including two Italians and two Guineans, one is electronically tagged and seven are women. The drugs were imported from Guinea, Senegal and the Netherlands via three couriers, two of them Italian and a child who was detained at Madeira Airport in October 2008 carrying 572 grams of heroin. The drugs were stored in the home of one of the defendants in Bairro da Torre, mainly for local distribution. Many of the children/families of the accused have been used to deliver/collect drugs and money. There is wiretapping evidence to support this allegation. The largest haul was in November 2008 when 12,549 individual doses of heroin (1,045 grams) were detected inside the bodies of the two Italians.The heroin was to be transferred to the Guinean who has spent five years in prison for a previous trafficking offence. The drug gang is suspected of operating from at least mid-2007 to August 2009 and the drugs brought into the country were cocaine and heroin. The Guinean is suspected to be the ringleader. Two of the defendants fabricated a construction company to try to justify the origin of the drug money. Items were seized during house searches, for example mobile phones, home-cinemas and LCDs. Large deposits into the bank accounts of the defendants, especially the ringleader, were traced between January and December 2008 (29,500 +11,570 + 41,915 Euros).

MADEIRA

Revive the neighbourhood by planting trees. 300 school children in the county of Ribeira Brava congregated at the school at Serra de Água as part of the celebrations of World Tree Day. The best way to mark the day was to plant trees. The mayor and a school delegate planted a tree then each school followed suit. This location was chosen as it was the area most devastated by the storm, to plant a symbol of hope and to highlight the rebirth of the parish. The tree planting was followed by entertainment, games and a lunch courtesy of the municipality.

London sends 2,500 kilos of donations. The Portuguese Catholic community attending the Scalabrini Church in Oval, South London, collected 2,500 kilos of donated goods over the past three weeks. The collection was begun on the 21st February and includes infant and children’s clothing, underwear, shoes and linens. During the Masses, 1,500 pounds sterling was collected and the amount was made up to 1,800 pounds from church funds to send the 100 boxes to Madeira. It would normally cost 5,000 pounds to send the container but for the generosity of the haulage firm C. R. Trans/Service, where a Portuguese immigrant works. The container left England last week and arrives in Madeira within a week. It will be forwarded to the Association for Community Development in Funchal/Community Centre of Santo Amaro.

New marine protected areas. Several proposals for the establishment of marine protected areas in waters beyond national jurisdiction will be discussed informally between today and Thursday in Funchal. Attending will be representatives from six countries that signed up to the OSPAR Convention (Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal), and NGOs such as the Worldwide Fund for Wildlife, Northeast Atlantic Ocean Fisheries Commission, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Institution for Conservation of Marine Biology.

ECONOMY

Demolition of the Savoy Hotel is ahead of deadline. The demolition of the Savoy Hotel started in January with a deadline of ten months. The main building is already in ruins and the reception area, gardens, shopping area and car parks are unrecognizable. This is despite the effects of the storms in February. Demolition by implosion was ruled out and the work has to comply with noise and environmental laws. A significant amount of the material will be reused. The firm responsible for the demolition and building of the new hotel is CASAIS. The project architect João Francisco Caires said the new hotel will include classical and traditional Madeiran architecture in proximity to English colonial architecture. The entire project is scheduled to take 36 months at an estimated 120 million Euros. Completion is aimed to be in time for the New Year’s Eve celebrations in 2012.

POLITICS

Tough measures to prevent exploitation. The Regional Government has decided to submit to the Legislative Assembly a proposed law to ensure all entities benefit, and to prevent exploitation of funds for the renovation of Madeira. Careful prioritization will help people and areas affected by the storm and to avoid duplication, the Government will find out who has benefited from other mechanisms such as insurance. The final relocation is underway and 400 new homes are needed and another 400 require renovation. At present, 53 families are still in public establishments, a situation the Executive wants resolving before Easter. The government said any aggregates that are being collected are authorized. The Marine Police is monitoring the situation and has found one case of illegal dumping of flood deposits at the mouth of the stream at Madelena do Mar.

CULTURE

Santa Cruz is still the City of Culture. It was previously reported that Santa Cruz Council had given up the project City of Culture 2010 as it had to redirect finances to storm damage repair work. The council now ensures that the project will go ahead with updates to the cultural program. The mayor has met Rui Massena, the conductor of the OCM, about the possibility of the classical orchestra opening the program but cannot confirm if this will occur. The county has the advantage that the mayor, José Alberto Gonçalves, is the president of the Madeira Classic Foundation that manages the OCM.

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

REGIONAL

Gaia calls to Porto to help Madeira. The municipalities of Funchal and Gaia will launch a series of meetings before Easter with businesses in Porto to obtain building materials and furniture for 291 houses. The Vice-mayor of Gaia is impressed with the recovery effort in Funchal and will appeal to businesses in the region of Porto where there is a tradition of furniture manufacture. These 291 houses are outside the risk area and are partially damaged. Other councils in Portugal have pledged help, for example 100,000 Euros from Amadora.

Coração da Madeira helps Serra d’Água. Now this voluntary organization has finished its work in RG3, the volunteers went to Serra d’Água with 74 boxes of donated clothing collected at the church at Nazaré over the past month. In partnership with the English Church, the volunteers will begin to distribute bed linen and clothing to various locations of need.

EVENTS

Two vehicles seized. Since the beginning of the year, there have been four cases of illegal dumping in the serras of Madeira. Last week, a Forest Ranger found two private cars were being used to dump material in Campanário, which came from the excavations for a house. The two cars have been seized as evidence and the case has been reported to the Directorate for the Environment. To recover the cars, the owners will have to first pay the fine for the breach. For dumping light material, fines for private individuals range from 1,500 – 3,740 Euros and for firms from 7,500 – 44,890 Euros. For heavier more damaging material, fines range from 25,000 – 37,500 Euros and for a firm, can go up to 60,000 Euros.

Guides and tourists still use footpaths. The Regional Directorate of Forestry is concerned about the number of people still walking along pedestrian paths despite the warnings, often encouraged by guides. Examples are the Caldeirão Verde and the Boca da Corrida/Encumeada. Eight pathways are closed at present: PR 7 Levada do Moínho (Ribeira da Cruz – Lamaceiros); PR 09 Levada do Caldeirão Verde (Queimadas – Caldeirão Verde), PR 10 Levada do Furado (Ribeiro Frio – Lamaceiros – Portela); PR 12 Caminho Real da Encumeada (Boca da Corrida – Encumeada); PR 14 Levada dos Cedros (Fanal – Curral Falso); PR 16 Levada da Fajã do Rodrigues (Fajã da Ama – Ribeira do Inferno); PR 17 Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal (Lombo do Mouro – Caramulo – Folhadal – Encumeada); PR 18 Levada do Rei (Quebradas – Ribeiro Bonito); Levada do Norte and Levada dos Tornos.

ECONOMY

Mercado de Oportunidades from 25 – 31 March. The erection of 51 tents on the Avenida Arriaga started yesterday. The Opportunities Market is for the selling of old stock at discounted prices, specifically shoes, decorations, clothing, jewellery, domestic electrical appliances, linen, crafts, toys and perfume. Opening hours will be 10.00 – 20.00. The demand has exceeded supply, 80 traders expressing interest but only 60 can participate, so the remaining 20 have places reserved in the second phase in the second half of the year. There will be eight cruise ships in port during this period, especially on the 31st when there will be five.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

ERC wants to know more names for RTP-Madeira TV – The regulatory entity says it has asked more explanations. RTP received nothing. And already three weeks have passed.

Today’s main news headline : Bureaucracy ties-up traders – The owners of shops badly hit by the storms of February are "fragile, frail and living in financial difficulties because the financial support is delayed in coming". The words are from Lino Abreu, from the Association of Commerce and Services, in disagreement with the excessive ‘red tape’. Whilst waiting for support, traders are just having to do what they can to recuperate what they lost, and are feeling pretty let down because the route to obtain support is complex and long-winded. Abreu says that some traders are so deflated by what has gone on, he fears that they will opt to close down rather than try and reopen their businesses. He says the process needs to be simplified because the traders need support right now. They need to provide strict evidence for their losses, and some of the documentation needed takes a long time to obtain.

Fountains of João Dinis return to see the light of day – The post-storm clean up has returned to view the old fountains, buried 70 years ago during works in the zone of the Palácio. They are going to return to provide drinking water and maybe inspire some old political jibes.

The Government is going to construct 25 homes in Ribeira Brava – The houses will be built in different communities. According to the Housing Association of Madeira [IHM] housing is still lacking for 17 families in the area, made homeless after the floods. IHM already have two or three locations in mind and is out and about looking for more land to built premises that will house several families. The decision to spread the housing is being taken to minimise the impact of the construction work, and also because there is a shortage of land with sufficient capacity for everything. 17 families still live in temporary accommodation, around 40 people. 

SITAM denounces late payment of salaries – The trade union met with the Regional Secretary for Human Resources. Due to the storm on 20 February, there are people who have still not received their salary from February.

Solidarity parade on the eve of the Flower Festival. Madeira’s favourite fashion designer, Fátima Lopes, is organising the event to take place on 17th April, in conjunction with Funchal Council. "I am preparing a solidarity event in April, that will revert to those who need it most," said Fátima. "It will be a big fashion show, open to everyone, with mannequins of the Face Models and many national public figures".

The main sport / football headline today : União SAD ‘half way there’ [?] – Jaime Lucas hopes that the ‘Ruben Micael case’ works out well.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and other material.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

(more…)

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tom … One of the last remaining objects from the railway closed during  the II WW, I believe 1941, the last and the only bridge of the train.

Many thanks to Elaine (East) for that cartoon, and this web snippet :

Oceans of Wine: Madeira and the Emergence of American Trade and Taste by David Hancock. New Haven: Yale, 2009. This engaging and thoroughly researched (150 pages of endnotes) work delves into all aspects of Madeira from the growing of the grapes on the Portuguese island of Madeira to the merchants, shippers, and consumers. The often complex and changing transatlantic trade was not restricted to the British colonies, but among many nations. HERE

Becky kindly send in this link to a video of fantastic nature photography HERE

How our islands are made … Pete HERE                                      Thank you both.

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

DIÁRIO 16/03/2010

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Government builds walls on the beach.  To protect illegal small villas that were originally ‘casas da lancha’, the Regional Government is building walls in the middle of the beach of Porto Santo. These buildings were for storing boats and have been transformed into holiday homes over the past 20 years. Porto Santo Council has made a complaint to the government. The target of the main complaint was the house belonging to Carlos Machado, the ‘Posto Avançado da Democracia’ (shown). Carlos Machado is associated with Alberto Jardim and the first wall built was to protect his holiday home. These artificial barriers impede the natural movement of the sand and sediments and will have a significant impact on the size of the beach. The Regional Government has also allowed the sand dunes to be destroyed by the replacement of wooden boat houses, with the installation of septic tanks that are emptied at night time onto the beach. The width of the beach is now less than 40 metres in areas and some areas are completely submerged at high tide. Over the last three decades, it has been estimated that 350,000 cubic metres of sand have disappeared, equivalent to 23,000 lorry loads. 13,000 cubic metres per year are lost. There are also less sediments transported to the beach by streams, the flow lessened by constructions designed to control storm water. The houses impede the circulation of sand from the north to the south. To remedy the problem, the Regional Government need to dredge the sea bed to replace the lost sand. These holiday homes are illegal yet other structures have been demolished, for example the Bar do Henrique because it was not a wooden construction. The Ports Administration has identified a number of houses in an attempt to prevent their proliferation. Santos Costa, the Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure has rejected replenishing the sand. He has also allowed the removal of large stones and pebbles that dissipate wave energy and prevent coastal erosion.

Santa Cruz terminate the contract of a firm dumping earth in the ribeira. An ironic situation arose. A construction firm in Santo da Serra was contracted by Santa Cruz Council to clean the estrada do Ribeiro Serrão (Camacha), that had become impassable after the storms on February 20th. The firm deposited the debris from the road into the Ribeiro Serrão, resulting in the council terminating their employment. The council already have a very rigid policy against individuals and companies that harm the county. The debris was being removed from the site of the Ponte de Pau and the action destroyed pipelines that carry drinking water to Camacha. This area had been without a drinking water supply for one week and the pipes had been repaired that very same day. The firm’s manager denied they had worked for the council but instead for ‘Estradas da Madeira’, and did not understand the accusation. The councillor backed his initial statement, adding that the firm dumped the earth into the stream to prevent having to transport it to temporary landfill sites.

MADEIRA

Expenses paid only when there is a conviction. Clarification of a previous report that the police have to pay for injuries sustained to the attacker, whilst defending themselves. Payments for medical treatment and social security contributions after aggressive incidents are paid by the perpetrators only if they are tried and convicted. The decision rests with the courts and not the health service. If the accused is innocent, the costs are paid by those who lose the court case. These procedures apply to both civilians and the police.

Social Security pays 15 million Euros to institutions.  In 2009, the Centre for Social Security transferred 15 million Euros to Social Security institutions and other not-for-profit institutions. This is 25% higher than in 2008. The number of institutions has not increased and they are mainly for children and the elderly, the latter increasingly in need of support.

ECONOMY

Two more dredges and the Zenith in port today. Two regional dredges started to clear the Port of Funchal after the storm of February 20th. Two more from Lisbon and Setubal will help them. One dredger, the Varosa, arrived yesterday morning with the aid of the Comandante Águas tug. It is 55 metres long, 11 metres wide and can hold about 670 toneladas (tonnage/tonnes ?) of inerts. The second dredger, the Gruamar, is transported from Setubal by the tug Monfort and arrives today. This vessel has a length of 39.4 metres and a width of 11.5 metres. Today is the inaugural visit of the cruise ship called the Zenith. Coming from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands with 220 tourists on board then sailing on to Lisbon. The ship was built in 1992 in Germany and is 208 metres long, 29 metres wide and can receive 1,374 passengers served by a crew of 657 personnel. 

Jorge Sá complains to the police about a dark campaign. A few days after the disaster of February 20th, an e-mail was circulated claiming that the Sá supermarket chain was taking advantage of the break in the drinking water network by raising the price of bottled water in some municipalities. Thousands of people in Madeira received this e-mail. The sender was identified as a former employee who is currently employed by a rival firm. A second e-mail was sent suggesting that people shopped at Pingo Doce supermarkets, mentioning that the owners of this chain were donating one million Euros to help the reconstruction effort, as opposed to the Sá Group not offering any financial help. The e-mail also alleged that Jorge Sá demanded that employees worked overtime without being paid to do so. Jorge Sá denies these accusations.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Today’s main news headline : Renovation of Serra de Água at the cost of privates [companies] – RTP Television and Sonae have clubbed together €1.5 million with the €1.2 million of Mota Engil, in order to guarantee the construction of 26 new houses.

The joint committee starts work tomorrow on the evaluation of Madeira [damage].

A mysterious ‘Crater’ disturbs Achadas da Cruz – The people are suspicious of something that the scientific community have promised to investigate.  The hole that is causing restlessness in Achadas has a diameter of one metre and a depth of 1.8 centimetres [yes I have double checked], and locals believe that it was caused by a meteorite. The hole appeared at the beginning of the month, a few days after the extreme rainfall, but the locals don’t believe that the two matters are related. Maria Pestana, owner of the land which took the hit, says that she can now laugh at the situation. However, in the beginning she was not amused at all, and even prayed about the event. She swears that in 78 years of life that she has never seen anything like it, and refuses to cover it up or peek into the hole. "It’s the power of God," she says. As for a reasonable explanation for the event, she refers to the fall of a "lightning bolt", or at worst, for "something more sumen" striking. What is ‘sumen’, and how can someone peak into a hole that is 1.8 cm deep? Sr. Diário reporter, I think you need to go back an remeasure the depth of that hole.

Undercover officer compromises ‘Caso da Mala’ [The case of the case] – An operation of the PSP [Public Security Police] raises a request of invalidity in a case under judgement.

Madeira promoted in Porto and in Vigo – ‘Tourism’ develops a promotional action following the new route of Transavia. The new air link between Funchal and Porto, by the French ‘low cost’ airline, has prompted the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport to promote Madeira in those two cities. Workshops have been organised with tour operators and travel agents.

Carlos Costa sings in the School Sports festival – The Madeiran ‘pop idol’ participates in the opening session of the event, on the 27th April.

The main sports / football headline today : Councillor condemns "blackmail" of the clubs – Arlindo Gomes [council president] criticises the leaders of Câmara de Lobos and Estreito and warns that he will reduce the support for sport. "Nowhere is there any commitment to continuity of support and the council is going to decide what will be allocated and how much it will allocate, within its capabilities." This is the response of the president of Câmara de Lobos facing the criticism he has suffered, because it has not yet been decided what support to give to sport.

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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